From the Artist: My still life arrangement sat pretty on my table for a couple of days before I started. I just kept studying it and figuring out my approach. In the end I decided to keep to the colors as they were. I had some trouble with the first two apples from the left. According to me the apple right in the middle has turned out the best. What do you think?
From the Painting Guide: Well, judging it in terms of which is the most realistically painted apple, I'd agree, though the one on the far left would be a close second. What I think your apples are missing is the sense of an indentation where the apple curves towards where the stem is. This can be done by both tone and direction of brush mark.
Consider the apple on the far left, at how the green marks go across the reds that make up the body of that apple. The compare it to the apple on the far right, where the brush marks at the top of the apple want to go down to the stem, rather than around the apple as they do at the moment. The same applies to the two pears, how you've painted the area where the stem joins the fruit.
Things to Consider When Looking at This Painting:
Tone vs Color: Form or shape in a painting is created through the placement of light and dark tones, and it's important to not be distracted by color. If you look at a grayscale version of this painting (see photo) you can see there is a lack of tonal variation, reducing the sense of 3D form in the fruit. Also that there's a strong outline on each fruit, which also detracts from the sense of 3D form.
I'd increase the darkness of the tone on the shadow side of the apples, as well as on the shadows the apples will cast.
See Also:
• What is Tone and Why is it Important to Painting, Perhaps Even More than Color?
From the Painting Guide: Well, judging it in terms of which is the most realistically painted apple, I'd agree, though the one on the far left would be a close second. What I think your apples are missing is the sense of an indentation where the apple curves towards where the stem is. This can be done by both tone and direction of brush mark.
Consider the apple on the far left, at how the green marks go across the reds that make up the body of that apple. The compare it to the apple on the far right, where the brush marks at the top of the apple want to go down to the stem, rather than around the apple as they do at the moment. The same applies to the two pears, how you've painted the area where the stem joins the fruit.
Things to Consider When Looking at This Painting:
Tone vs Color: Form or shape in a painting is created through the placement of light and dark tones, and it's important to not be distracted by color. If you look at a grayscale version of this painting (see photo) you can see there is a lack of tonal variation, reducing the sense of 3D form in the fruit. Also that there's a strong outline on each fruit, which also detracts from the sense of 3D form.
I'd increase the darkness of the tone on the shadow side of the apples, as well as on the shadows the apples will cast.
See Also:
• What is Tone and Why is it Important to Painting, Perhaps Even More than Color?